Shallow Lies and Ignored Truths
by NoctePluvia
Summary: Jack and Bunny still argue. The only difference is that now, Bunny can tell when Jack is hurt by his insults. A bit of a character study on the development of their friendship. ONESHOT


Bunny honestly wasn't even sure what had started it that time. Maybe it was another one of Jack's stupid little pranks. Maybe Frost had just called Bunny by another ridiculous nickname. Or maybe it was just another cold breeze that swept through the room at that moment, when Bunny was already regretting leaving the warmth of his Warren to come to this meeting. Maybe it was all of those things, maybe it was nothing, maybe it was just the accumulation of a hundred tiny annoyances, building up like heavy snow on an already overburdened rooftop.

By that point, it was practically routine. Bunny would get annoyed and make some comment. Jack would respond with a retort and a laugh. Soon the repartee would devolve; the insults would get meaner, the criticisms would get crueler, and the bickering would turn heated.

It happened almost every meeting.

The other Guardians were so used to it that they learned to ignore it. There was no point trying to stop it. Tooth would occasionally wince when Jack or Bunny threw out a particularly low blow, and North would grow steadily more uncomfortable as tensions rose, but other than that they just let the two fight.

It was nothing new. Jack and Bunny were competitive. There'd be a slight sense of satisfaction when they saw a flash of hurt that the other couldn't hide; there'd be great annoyance when the other seemed unaffected by an insult. It wasn't that they hated each other, it was just that Jack and Bunny simply did not get along.

"At least kids like the snow itself. If it wasn't for the holiday, no kid would want a colored egg!" Jack smiled mockingly at Bunny as Bunny glowered back.

"What are ya talkin' about, the ankle-biters get way more excited about my googies than your flurries!" Bunny crossed his arms, smirking as Jack's smile dropped a bit.

"If your eggs are so much better, then why is it I get a whole season while you only get one day?"

"I only _need_ one day to keep 'em believing. And in case ya haven't noticed, my eggs get a lot more believers than your snow." Bunny's smirked widened as Jack stopped smiling and subconsciously took up a slightly defensive position.

"Kids like my snow whether they believe in me or not. The only reason kids like your eggs is because they already believe in you." Bunny's posture stiffened. The argument was getting dangerous; Jack and Bunny had made an unspoken agreement to never bring up being invisible in their arguments. It was too bad of a topic for both of them. But now Bunny was angry.

"Did ya ever think maybe there's a _reason_ they believe in me?" The unspoken ending '_and not you'_ did not go unnoticed by Jack, who seemed a bit thrown off by the cruel comment.

"Maybe you just got lucky." The retort was weak, and Bunny was not ignorant to Jack's hurt. He once was, back before Jack had become a Guardian, back when Bunny and Jack really did sort of hate each other. By now, Bunny had learned not to mistake a laugh with actual amusement or a smile with actual indifference when Jack was upset. Bunny had learned to recognize the little clues Jack gave, little things that suggested Jack wasn't quite as carefree as Bunny liked to think.

But Bunny was angry. The argument had gone on for too long, and Bunny's rage let him trick himself into thinking that Jack really was just an irritating troublemaker.

"Maybe I did. Or _maybe_, there's a _reason_ so few believe in ya. Maybe there's a reason you were invisible for 300 years." Bunny had crossed a line that wasn't meant to be crossed. He knew that. And he was torn between guilt and the continued anger that raged inside of him.

Jack smiled a smile that Bunny would have once mistaken for indifference. Now he recognized it as bitter. Jack nodded, like he had heard that insult a thousand times before. Like he had thought it himself a thousand times before.

Bunny had expected Jack to be hurt. He had expected Jack to get angry, to yell at him. But he _smiled_, he _still_ smiled, he gave Bunny that condescending nod, as if to say _you couldn't think of anything more creative than that?_ Bunny was pissed. At this point he wasn't even sure who he was pissed at, or why. He was pissed at Jack for not being hurt more. He was pissed at himself for saying something so low, and for continuing to try to get a rise out of Jack. He was pissed at the world, for letting a spirit be alone for so long that he almost seemed to _agree_ that it was his fault for being like that.

Bunny was pissed at himself for not helping Jack, and for caring now, when it felt far too late for everything.

A few tense seconds had passed before Jack looked at Bunny again. Bunny was slightly disturbed by the cold, seemingly emotionless look in Jack's eyes. He was very disturbed to think that he had been the one to cause it.

"Yeah, maybe. And maybe there's a reason _you_ were walked through on Easter. Maybe there's a reason you're the _only_ Guardian to have been walked through."

Despite his defensive position, Jack seemed to stand up straighter, taking on an angrier look. Trying to look less hurt. There was something about his comment that seemed off, Bunny thought, something about being the only Guardian, but he was angry, angry for so many reasons that he didn't want to deal with. And it was so much easier to just be angry at Jack for what he said than to think about the cause of all his anger. What Jack said was low, really low, and Bunny was able to ignore the odd closed-off look Jack had about him.

"Are you bloody kidding me!? It's _your_ bloody fault I was invisible. _You_ are the one that ruined Easter. That's what you _do_, you make a mess of everything!" It wasn't true, Bunny knew it wasn't true, but in that moment Bunny was not looking for truth. Bunny was looking to say what he thought would hurt Jack the most. Bunny was looking to break that ridiculous look of carefree indifference that Jack always seemed to have.

It seemed to work. Jack took an involuntary step back, inhaled sharply in shock. Bunny's mind was fuzzy with rage, he couldn't work out exactly what he had said to get such a reaction, but he was pretty sure there was something about a memory, something about…

Jack let the breath he had been holding, shoulders drooping. The other Guardians were saying something, but Bunny wasn't paying attention to them. His focus was solely on Jack Frost, the spirit he could not understand, the spirit who seemed to be able to take anything life threw at him and then some. Bunny watched as a familiar cool, calm look came over Jack.

"I don't need this. I've got snow to make." Jack left before Bunny could say another word. It was the first argument with Jack that Bunny had won. Every other fight had always ended in a stalemate. Bunny had never felt so badly that he had lost.

The argument had lasted less than five minutes.

Bunny wished he could go back to before he knew Jack, when he could pretend that there really was nothing that bothered the winter spirit.

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**A/N: Do you ever just write something and then hate the way it turned out? I really wanted to write this in second person, but apparently that's weird to read? This just feels really awkwardly written and poorly explained. But yeah, Jack and Bunny's relationship interests me to no end. Especially thinking about how their arguments would develop as they start to get to know each other better and care about each other. I feel like Bunny would be extremely resistant, because he doesn't want to deal with the guilt of fully admitting that Jack was not actually as carefree and happy during those three hundred years as Bunny originally thought.**

**Now if I could just figure out how to write that in a way that makes sense.**


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